Tombstone epitaph., 1887-08-27
William Brown, of Oregon
By JOAQUIN MILLER.
They car,ed him Bill. the Aired

They caned him Bill. the Aired man,
 But she, her name was Mary Jane, The sq'lire's daughter; andto reign The belle from IeI~she-be to Dan. Her little game. How lovers rash
 Got mittens at the spelllng-schooll How many mute, .ngorfous fooll Wrote rhymes and sighed and ddyed-musfecne The hired man had loved her long,
 Had loved her best and first and lasti Her very garments as she possed For him, had symphony and song. So when one day with brow afr0wn
 Shs called him Bill" he raised his heads He caught her eye and faltering said,. "l love you; and my name is Brown. She fairly watzed with rage; she wept; You would have thought the house on nr> She told her sire, the portly squire, Then smet her smelling-salts and slept Poor William did what could be done; He swung pistol on each hip,
 He gathered up a great OK whip And drove toward the setting sun. He crossed the great back bone of earth He saw the snowy mountains rolled Like mighty pillows; saw the gold Of awful sunsets; saw the birth Of sudden dawn upon the plain,
 And every night would William Brown Eat pork and beans, and then lie down And dream sweet dreams of gentle Jane Her lovers passed. Wolves hunt in packs. They sought for bigger game; somehow They seemed to see above her brow The iorky sign of turkey tracks. Inc tctei-board of life goes up
 Tue {, ter-board of life goes down,
 The sweetest face must learn to frowns The biggest dog has been pup. 0, maideusi pluck not at the air;
 The sweetest flowers have found
 Grow rather close unto the ground, Ard highest places are most bare. Why you had better win the grace
 Of one poor cussed Af-ri-can,
 Than win the eyes of every man fu love alone with his own face. At last she nursed new desire,
 She sighed, sne wept for William Brown She watched the splendtd stn Fo down Like some greHt sailing ship on fire Then rose and checked her trunk right ons And in the cars she lunched and lunchedi Aud had her tici.et punched nd puncheds Until she came to Oregon. ehe reached the limit C the lines,
 She wore blue specks upon her nose,
 Wore rather short and manly clothes, q so set out to reach the mines. E fqht hand he'd Testament,
 T. pocket held parasol, 4, thus equipped right on she wect
 Nrnt waterproof and water-!Ais O met miner gazing down.,
 < Sow stirring something with spcO0, 70. tell me true and tell me soon, What las become of William Browp". , Re looked Il kance beneath ber specs,
 Then stirred his cocktail -ound and round Then raised his head and sighed profound. And said, Hes banded in his checks. Then care fed on her damaged cheek,
 And she grew faint did galus Jane,
 And sn,elt her smelling salts in yain. She wandered on weary, worn and weak, At last upon hill alone She came. and there she sat her down;
 For on that hill there stood stone, And. loI that stone read, "william Brown 70, William Brown! O, William Brownl And here you rest at last" she said,
 "With this lone stone above your head, And forty miles from any towll Twill plant cypress trees. will,
 And l will build n fence around,
 And will fertilize the ground With tears enough to turn mill" She went and got hired man.
 She brought him forty miles from town And in the tall grass squatted down And bade him build as she should plan. But savage cowboys with their bands
 They saw, and hurriedly they ran
 And told bearded cattle man Somebody builded on his lands. He took his rife from the rack,
 He girt himself in battle pels,
 He stuck two pistols in his bolt And, mounting on his horses back, He plunged ahead. But when they showed A woman fair about his eyes
 He lulled his hat, and he likewise Pulled at his beard and chewed and cheweds At last he eat him down and spake:
 70, lady dear, what do you herer'
 ''l build tomb unto my dear, ! plant sweet flowers for his sake" The bearded man threw his two hands ! Above his head, then brought them down And cried, "Oh, am William Brown. And this is the cornerstone of my landsr' Her specs fell of, her head fell back, Just like some lifted teapot lid;
 She screamed, this ancient maiden did, And, fainting, split herself, in fact, Right in the beard of William Brown,
 Then all the Indians were amazed;
 They thought this gentle maiden c.azo4 And circling round they squatted down. But William was gentle man;
 He bade two Indians call the priest,
 He bade two more prepare feast, Ghen led her, blushng, by the hand Like some sweet maiden in sweet May. He was so good, be was 80 true.
 He did not know what else to do, But led her round and round all day. At last the priest, on spotted mare
 Who galloped forty miles or more, He found them in the grasses sore And married them right then and thera Then all the cowboys they came down aud feast,'d as the night advanced, And all the dggers drank and danced, And cried. 'Big lpJn, William Brownp'